Turmoil
by J. and J. Hutchisson
Summary: The past Champion of Cyrodiil, Melsrayna, a Wood Elf, disappeared from history many years ago, but has now found herself in the middle of the Imperial Legion and Stormcloak crisis in the north. Soon, she finds a companion in an Orc named Keth who will help her along the way. Between the two of them, they believe they can solve whatever crisis comes their way.
1. Chapter 1

Melsrayna stood frozen at the crossing between Cyrodiil and Skyrim. After saving, Cyrodiil from a certain Oblivion crisis, she couldn't imagine leaving the land that had become her home, but the Thalmar had driven her here; the last mostly free place to worship Talos. With that, it had brought its own troubles. The Thalmar were now here in force and threatening to bring the rest of Tamriel against the north; a country full of the most courageous men Mels knew, albeit most of the time they were drunk, enjoying their drink a little too much.

Her Wood Elf eyes looked back at Cyrodiil and she sighed heavily. Her long, brown hair blew back and forth in the chill wind, but she only hesitated briefly. Skyrim was the place she needed to be. It was the place, she could make a difference again and make things go back to the way they were. Talos was a God and the Thalmar had no business dictating who could and could not be worshipped.

The moment she stepped between what was Cyrodiil and Skyrim, she felt the burden of decision slide free from her. That was until she noticed a group of men hiding in the brush to her left. One of them caught her eye and motioned for her to join them. Mels only frowned at them and stayed her ground.

"Are ye daft?" one of them yelled over at her.

Mels turned from them. It was too early to decide anything yet. She was new to Skyrim and needed to discover information for herself. She couldn't risk forming an alliance with anyone yet, not without any of the facts. As she walked past them, she could feel their Nord eyes boring into the back of her skull. Suppressing a shudder, she continued forward. None of them mattered. She didn't know any of them and yet, she couldn't shake this feeling that something horrible was going to happen. In her many years of life, she had learned to rely on intuition. After all, it _was_ how she survived Mehrunes Dagon.

One of them roughly grabbed her arm and pulled her around. Mels found herself staring into the eyes of a north man. His blue eyes met hers curiously. Shaggy blonde hair hung around his broad shoulders. In comparison, despite all Nords being tall, large people, as she was an Elf, he was a very large man, but she knew she could handle him if need be. She had handled much worse in the past. Besides, she never went anywhere without poison.

"I suggest you release me, young man," Melsrayna said through gritted teeth. She glanced down at his hand briefly and then back into his eyes. He seemed amused, but he did as he was told. "I have no quarrel with you and I suggest you leave it that way. Whatever this is and whatever you're planning, I will not get involved. Is that understood?"

The Nord laughed. His laugh was obnoxious. "You're the one who doesn't understand. By coming to Skyrim, you involved yourself." Mels raised a thin brow. Her hand inched toward the dagger at her side. "But have it your way. You'll soon find out for yourself."

The young Nord went back to his position. Melsrayna studied him once more before turning planning on going to Whiterun. She had heard that so far the town had retained its neutrality in this war that was brewing between the Imperial Legion and the Stormcloaks. That was where she was certain she could get unbiased information about what was happening here in what she had once thought of as a noble land.

She was maybe a hundred yards from them when she heard movement behind her. Mels assumed it was that same man, coming to try to convince her to join them. However, as she turned around, she was met by a surprise. Instead of a young Nord, she was facing a General of the Imperial Legion. From the look on his aged face, she knew this wasn't going to be good.

"Good day, sir," she said calmly. "My name is Me…"

"Seize her and grab the others," he ordered in a gruff tone. "They are all under arrest for treason. We shall take them to Helgen for execution."

"Wait,"' Melsrayna exclaimed trying to break free from the three men who had grabbed her to bind her feet and hands. "You're making a mistake. Just let me explain who I am."

"Lady, I don't care who you are. You were seen talking to these rebels. As far as I'm concerned you're one of them trying to worm her way out of punishment."

"Wait! Wait! Wait!" Mels yelled as she elbowed one of the men who had grabbed her, jumped over the one knelt before her getting ready to bind her legs. She touched the general's shoulder. Several men came at her with swords drawn. All it took was one look to know that they meant to kill her then and there. "I'm the Champion of Cyr…"

She never got to finish her statement before the General punched her in the face, knocking her out cold. Melsrayna didn't see the sad look the young Nord who had first spoken to her gave her as he was led to the wagon where all of the prisoners were being detained for transport to a city that she only knew was named Helgen.

The general stood over her and rolled her onto her back with the tip of his boot. He _was_ surprised to find a Wood Elf amongst these men who were whole heartedly tearing apart Skyrim with their incessant need to worship Talos. Whereas he didn't know how she fell in with these men or if she did at all, he told himself that she must be guilty of something.

"Put her with the others."

"Sir," Hadvar said staring down at the Wood Elf. The general nodded for him to continue. "Call me crazy, but I think she was going to say that she's the Champion of Cyrodiil."

The general looked down at the elf and laughed. "You're crazy, Hadvar. The Champion of Cyrodiil is long since dead. That was over two hundred years ago and no one has heard anything about her since then. This woman will say anything to get out of being punished. Make sure you don't listen to her lies."

"Yes, sir," Hadvar said.

General Tullius turned toward his soldiers with a small smile of victory. At long last, he had Ulfric Stormcloak in his grasp. He would savor every last breath the man made. As such, he knew that the man's death would come last. Ulfric was going to have to watch his men die because of his reckless nature before ultimately joining them. This was a great day for the Imperial Legion and an important step toward reuniting Skyrim with the empire. For this, his name would certainly go down in history.

"Move out men! We've wasted enough time." As he made his way to the head of the procession, he glanced once more at the Wood Elf, briefly wondering if her story was true. He shook his head, telling himself that he was getting as bad as Hadvar for believing such things. The Champion of Cyrodiil had died many years ago.


	2. Chapter 2

Her head was pounding. She blinked several times, clearing her vision. It took several moments for her to realize that she was bound and another several to remember her encounter with the general. Despite all of this, her focus was drawn to the nearby snow covered mountains. The scene was breathtaking. Cyrodiil had nothing in comparison.

"Hey you, you're finally awake," the young Nord from before said. Melsrayna only stared at him, uncertain what he wanted. On her right side sat another man, who she could only guess was a Nord from his fair skin and size, but his mouth had been bound as well. At once, she was suddenly curious about him. "You were trying to cross the border, right?"

"Yes," she said slowly, eyes flittering over to the man to her right again. From the way he was bound, more securely than the rest, she knew he was important and she knew he was the reason she had been falsely imprisoned.

"You walked right into that Imperial ambush, same as us."

Her greenish brown eyes suddenly narrowed. "I would have been fine if you had never came up to me. They would have known I wasn't affiliated with you." Mels paused, taking in a deep breath.

"Believe what you will. Those imperial bastards would have taken you anyway," the man said doing his best to give her an indifferent shrug despite the guilt in his blue eyes. Several minutes of silence passed. "My name is Ralof."

Mels couldn't keep from laughing at him, letting her anger at the situation control her. "Well, Ralof, seeing as you like to interfere when it isn't your place to interfere, I'm going to guess that the Orc next to you is innocent as well. How do you feel knowing that you got two innocent people killed because you couldn't leave well enough alone?"

Ralof looked down at the bottom of the wagon and said nothing further. Melsrayna couldn't help but shake her head at the young Nord. She knew she shouldn't have been so harsh on him, but from her view, if he had never interfered, this would have never happened. She was a good person.

"Don't be so hard on the boy," the Orc said, his deep voice rumbling in the back of his throat. "It's true that I wouldn't have been caught if the Stormcloaks hadn't been there, but when you plan on stealing horses for a living, you expect to get caught eventually."

Mels frowned at the Orc. She hadn't expected a horse thief to be so brutally honest about what he did for a living. The Orc had the typical Orc features; protruding chin which gave him a large under bite, ridged forehead, greenish brown skin and had enough muscles to make both of the Nords look small. But this Orc had a scar running down the right side of his face which passed over his right eye. That eye was a milky white while his other was brown. The top knot of black hair with a touch of gray looked to be well tended, which she didn't expect to see on an Orc.

The Orc aimed a smirk at her. "And while you may be the only innocent one in this wagon, you have the least manners. My name is Keth, and it's nice to meet you, in spite of the circumstances."

"Shut up back there!" the Imperial soldier driving the wagon yelled at them without turning around.

Keth snorted. "Come back here and make us shut up, Imperial coward."

Mels rolled her eyes. "Yes, yes, _please_ antagonize them and make things worse."

Keth smirked at her again. The wagon rolled along the road in silence for a few minutes. Ralof kept his eyes on the floor of the wagon and Ulfric seemed to be staring off at nothing. Keth and Mels were looking around, taking in the landscape. The Wood Elf still couldn't believe how beautiful it was here. She was so entranced by the scenery that she didn't notice the town they were approaching until she heard someone yelling to the general and heard a large gate creak open.

Helgen was a small town, hamlet would have described it better, with only a few buildings and one road that wound around the tower that sat at the center of it. As Mels watched, General Tullius walked his horse away from the road and stopped near a small group of High Elves. Everyone in the wagon was glaring at the elves.

"Look at him, General Tullius the Military Governor, talking to the Thalmor. Damned elves. I bet they had something to do with this," Ralof growled. They were now watching out the back of the wagon as they rolled away from the elves and the General. "It's funny," Ralof mused, as though to himself, "when I was a boy, Imperial walls and towers used to make me feel so safe."

"Who are they, father?" a small voice asked from behind Mels. She turned and saw a little boy standing on the porch of one of the house next to a broad Nord that Mels guessed was the boy's father. "Where are they going?"

"Go inside, little cub," the Nord said, though it was a gentle command. Mels was glad that not all Nords were blood thirsty enough to let their children watch an execution. The men she was riding with, she was uncertain of. Mels shook her head. She had wanted to see the conflict between the Imperial Legion and the Stormcloaks and somehow fate had landed her in the middle of it, about to lose her head.

The wagons continued to roll along as the boy's response to his father was lost behind them. The first wagon stopped as the horses came to a halt in front of the stone wall that ran through the little hamlet. Their wagon rolled up alongside the first and the driver pulled on the reins to stop the horses.

Ralof let off a heavy sigh. "End of the line."

Keth snorted again. "You say that like you expected some other kind of end. You Stormcloaks are rebels, after all."

Ulfric grunted at the Orc, but the cloth around his mouth muffled whatever he was going to say. The wagon lurched slightly as the driver set the brake before they were completely stopped. An Imperial soldier unlatched the gate at the back of the wagon and let it fall open.

"Everyone out," the soldier stated, hand on the hilt of his sword for emphasis.


	3. Chapter 3

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Melsrayna couldn't help but scowl at the Stormcloaks as she climbed out of the back of the wagon. She was angry with them for having gotten her caught, but somewhere in the back of her mind, she knew that eventually this could have happened anyway as she'd been planning on joining them to fight the Thalmar and the domination of the rest of Tamriel. She just thought she'd have a better chance at it. Instead, it had begun with her death.

She stopped beside Keth who snorted at her before turning his gaze to the soldiers in front of them. Mels did the same, wearing the same dour expression she had since she had woken in binds.

"Step toward the block when we call your name!" a small Imperial yelled. Mels only raised a brow at her. The woman had attempted to sound tough, but instead just sounded like a bitch. "One at a time."

Standing on the other side of Mels was Ralof who let out a heavy sigh. "Empire loves their damned lists."

"Ulfric Stormcloak, Yarl of Windhelm," Hadvar called solemnly.

Ralof said something to her side, but Mels was no longer paying him any attention. Her eyes were focused on the Yarl of Windhelm. He was the man who had raised all of the commotion here in Skyrim. She couldn't believe that her first day in this north land had ended her into custody with the man she'd been seeking to help drive the Thalmar and the Legion out. Despite being moments away from being beheaded, Mels couldn't help but laugh.

"Ralof of Riverwood."

Mels watched the Nord who had caused all of these problems for her. Suddenly she felt horrible for her words earlier. They had been said because she was angry, not because she disliked the young man.

"Keth of Narzulbur."

The Wood Elf watched the Orc step forward with pride.

"Wait, you there. Step forward." Hadvar studied her. Several times he looked her up and down before he found his voice again. "Who are you?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you," Mels responded.

Suddenly the Nord working with the Imperials leaned in close. "You never know what I might believe in," he whispered.

Mels chuckled. "Even if I told you, your _General_ would never believe it." He looked to her but said nothing further. "My name is Melsrayna."

Hadvar looked toward the captain who was shouting orders; the woman Mels deemed a heartless bitch. "Captain, what should we do? She's not on the list." His voice sounded suddenly hopeful.

"Forget the list, she goes to the block."

Hadvar said nothing further for several moments. However, when he looked back at the Wood Elf he knew that he had to. This wasn't right. Deep down, despite General Tullius thinking he was crazy, he knew that this woman was the Champion of Cyrodill; that she hadn't died in obscurity; that she had just faded from history. And who could blame her? After receiving all the fame for essentially saving Tamriel, he could guess that she hadn't been left alone for several years. She had probably gotten tired of it.

"Ma'am," Hadvar said, turning to the Captain. "I have to disagree with you. This woman is the Champion of Cyrodill. She deserves better. This is all a mix up."

The woman stared at him coldly for several moments before grabbing him by the front of his armor and pulling his face down to meet hers. "If you have a problem with my orders you may join her!"

Hadvar could feel the Wood Elf's eyes on him. "No, ma'am," he muttered.

"Good. Now do what you're told," she hissed before shoving him back.

"By your orders, Captain." Hadvar turned toward the Wood Elf. At first, he couldn't bring himself to look her in the eye, but when he did, he found sympathy in her green eyes rather than hatred as he had expected. "I'm sorry. Would you like your remains returned to Cyrodill or Valenwood?"

Melsrayna hesitated briefly. She met Hadvar's eyes and at once she knew that he knew who she was. A small smile flickered across her pale lips. "Cyrodill will be fine. Thank you."

"I wish I could have done more for you."

"What?" the Captain demanded harshly. "Are you her lover?"

Hadvar turned a deep red from the absurd question. "Follow the Captain, Champion," he said softly earning him a shove of impatience from the Captain.

As they all followed the Imperial woman over to the headsman's block, Keth caught Mels eyes and smirked. She could tell that he had some kind of comment ready, but had decided to keep it to himself. At the moment, she thought it a good thing.

Their attention was brought to General Tullius, an old man who was bald. "Ulfric Stormcloak. Some here in Helgen call you a hero, but a hero doesn't use a power like the voice to murder his king and usurp his throne." In response, as Ulfric's mouth is still bound, he grunts, trying to say something. "You started this war, plunged Skyrim into chaos! And now the empire is going to put you down…"

"Like the dog you are," Keth said in a whisper. Mels glanced over at the orc who nodded toward her in response. Although he was moments away from death, he seemed amused.

"And restore the peace," Tullius continued.

Suddenly a loud, obnoxious and angry roar stopped him. All around them, people looked toward the sky in confusion. Both Mels and Keth joined them. All of the amusement she had seen in the Orc had disappeared in that second.

"What was that?" one of the Imperial guards asked a bit timidly.

Tullius looked up at the sky again briefly as if he were afraid that if his gaze strayed from Ulfric too long that the man would somehow disappear. Mels would love to see that trick.

"It's nothing. Carry on."

"Yeah, it certainly _sounds_ like nothing," Keth muttered so only those standing near him could hear.

"Yes, General Tullius," the Captain said in her annoying voice that made it sound as if she thought she was better than everyone else. "Give them their last rights."

"As we commend your souls to Aetherius, blessings of the eight divines upon you…"

She never got to finish before one of the Stormcloaks from the wagon that had been ahead of Mels interrupted. She didn't listen to a word he said. All she could think of was why he didn't want to extend his life just a little longer. From where she stood in between Ralof and Keth, looking like a child when comparing height between them, she watched the Nord willingly lay his head on the headsman's block.

Right as the executioner swung down, Mels grimaced at the thwack sound of the axe hitting the man's head. Unfortunately for them, the head missed the basket below that was meant to catch it. Without really wanting to, they all watched the head roll along the ground into one of the Imperial soldiers stopped it with his foot.

Shouts from the crowd sounded all around them, but they fell deaf on Mels' ears. All that mattered was her and that axe. Although she had lived a long, eventful life she wasn't ready to die. She wasn't finished with this life.

"As fearless in death as he was life," Ralof said to her side. His voice brought Mels back to the present.

"Bring the _Champion of Cyrodill_," the captain said with a sneer as she glanced over at Hadvar as if he was the craziest person she knew.

The loud roar sounded again. Everyone looked toward the skies in confusion. Even Mels found herself looking about, expecting… well, expecting something.

"There it is again. Did you hear that?" Hadvar asked, looking toward the Captain.

Keth shook his head at the man and nudged Mels. "You'd either have to be deaf or crazy not to have heard that."

"I SAID next prisoner!"

"Crazy it is," the orc said chuckling even though within moments he would be dead. Mels couldn't help but wonder how he could take a death such as this so lightly.

"To the block prisoner. Nice and easy," Hadvar said looking to Mels with remorse.

She met his gaze and gave him a small smile hoping it said that she didn't blame him. She walked towards the headsman's block with her shoulders held high. If she was going to die, she wasn't going to die as a coward. Kneeling before the block smeared in the Stormcloak's blood, she lay her cheek against it, feeling the blood beneath it. As soon as her head rested fully on the stone block, the sound of that horrendous roar they'd been hearing sounded again.

Mels's eyes widened at the sight that met her. Coming from the mountains to her right, was the largest, blackest creature she had ever seen. From her experience back in Cyrodill, she knew it was a dragon, but the dragon was nothing like Akatosh. This dragon radiated with evil.

"What in Oblivion is that?" General Tullius shouted.

"Sentries what do you see?"

"It's in the clouds!"

"No, it's not. It's right there, dumbass!" Keth yelled.

"Dragon!"


	4. Chapter 4

Amid the terror of the dragon that was causing everyone to fall over themselves trying to flee and the destruction that was raining down around them, Keth was looking down at the executioner with an amused smirk. The man had fainted upon seeing the dragon. Two steps brought the orc to stand over the man, then he knelt and took the knife from the executioner's boot. One slash cut the bonds on his hands and a few more steps brought him to the prone wood elf. He grabbed her arm and helped her up.

"Come on elf! We need to find some cover!" Now that she was on her feet, Mels was able to look around. Thunder rolled continuously overhead and lightning crashed around the small town.

"This way!" Ralof yelled. The nord was standing a few feet away from one of the round towers. Mels and Keth didn't need any more encouragement than that to get them running to the tower. A crash from above was the only warning they had when one of the bolts of lightning struck the top of the tower. Chunks of stone and mortar crashed to the ground around them as they made it to the doorway and jumped inside.

"Was that really a dragon?" Ralof asked. "Could the legends be true?"

"Legends don't destroy towns," Ulfric stated dryly.

"We need to get out of here!" one of the Stormcloak soldiers yelled. The man looked around the inside of the tower wildly. Ulfric told him to be calm, but the man spotted the stairs and ran to them. Keth had just cut the rope binding Mels' hands and watched the man run up the stairs. The orc was thinking that in his panicked state, the man was likely to trip and break his neck. Instead, when the Stormcloak reached the first platform above them, the outer wall of the tower suddenly exploded inward. The Stormcloak fell with a yell as he was pelted with melon sized chunks of rock that threw him to the side.

Both Keth and Mels moved to go up the stairs to help the man. The two stopped, Mels being a few steps higher than Keth, when a gout of fire filled the new hole in the wall. The heat was extreme, making everyone in the tower duck low and cover their faces. Even with his arm across his face, Keth still felt like all the hair on his body was going to burst into flame.

The heat lingered even after the fire was gone. They heard the dragon roar as it took flight again. No one needed to check on the man now. No one could have survived that. Mels walked slowly up the stairs anyway, which were now scorched black, while Keth looked over at the Stormcloaks. The men standing around Ulfric were discussing how to escape, but it quickly turned into an argument.

"Keth," Mels called from above. Not seeing a way to end the argument, the orc decided to climb the stairs.

"What's wrong, elf?" Keth asked.

Mels eyes seemed to bore into the orc's. "My name is Mels, please us it instead of calling me 'elf'. And nothing is wrong." She pointed out the hole. "But I think I found our way out."

Through the hole, Keth saw what was left of a house. Fire still burned in several places and most of the roof was gone. It didn't look like a far jump, but Keth arched a questioning eyebrow at Mels.

"What? Are you scared you'll miss?" the wood elf asked with a smirk.

Keth barked a laugh and looked down at the Stormcloaks. With the way they were arguing, the tower could collapse before they came to an agreement on what to do. Looking back at Mels, the wood elf met Keth's look with a grin and stepped back. There was only enough room for her to take five running steps before she jumped through the hole. Keht watched her land and tuck gracefully into a roll.

The much taller orc had only enough room for two running steps before pitching himself through the hole. The second floor of the house rushed up to meet him and he landed without a roll. The house shuddered and creaked under the impact of the orc, but it held. The two hurried down the small set of stairs and into the street.

The next few moments were a blur of running, screaming and dragon breath. The nord in imperial armor, Hadvar, found them in the street and knowing that Mels was the Champion of Cyrodill he decided to lead them to safety. The nord had them duck into an alley, while the dragon landed above them and breathed fire on some of the people running in the streets. After the dragon took to the sky again, Hadvar led them into the street, aiming slightly toward the General.

"Get to the fort, soldier!" the General yelled. Hadvar didn't need to be told twice and led them through a broken gate toward the fort.

"Get out of the way, traitor!" Hadvar yelled when he spotted Ralof running toward them from the other direction.

"You're the traitor for putting on that uniform!" Ralof yelled back at him. He looked at Mels and Keth. "Come on! Our freedom is this way!"

"I can get you out of here, follow me!" Hadvar yelled in response.

Mels and Keth looked at each other and then looked at both nords in turn. Without saying anything to one another, the wood elf and the orc walked past Hadvar toward Ralof and went to follow him into the fort. Mels looked back at Hadvar. She smiled apologetically at him before stepping into the fort behind Keth.


	5. Chapter 5

The sounds of fighting and soldiers dying and the roars of the dragon were muted slightly when the big door shut behind them. The small entryway they stepped into led to a large round room with a table opposite the entryway. Looking left and right showed the three of them two iron-barred doors. Ralof walked forward quickly to kneel next to the dead Stormcloak that was halfway under the table. Keth stepped to the right and checked the door over there. The rattle told them it was locked.

Mels looked around the room, staying more in the center of it.

"We'll meet again in Sovengarde, brother," Ralof said to the dead man as he stood. Keth crossed the room quickly and rattled the other door.

"We're locked in," the Orc announced.

"You might as well take his armor and axe," Ralof told Mels as he pointed at the dead man. "He won't be needing them anymore."

Mels stepped over to the man and picked the axe up. The weapon was iron and very crude, but it would work to chop people or creatures. Knowing that she had other ways to defend herself, the Wood Elf decided to offer the weapon to the Orc. She turned and held it out to him.

"Keep it. I'm better with my fists." The Orc's broad grin made her arch an eyebrow. "Seriously, I killed a bear with my bare hands once, pardon the pun."

"Shhh! Imperial soldiers are coming!" Ralof said in a harsh whisper. The man was crouched beside one of the doors, pointing through the door. Mels ducked down beside the table and Keth hurried over to the other side of the door.

With a creak and squeal, the door swung open and three Imperials stepped into the room. The annoying Imperial Captain that had been in charge of the execution led two of her subordinates. All were still in their armor. The Captain spotted Mels almost at the same time that the two in the back noticed the two people flanking the doorway.

"For the Empire!" the Captain yelled as she drew her sword and charged at Mels. The Wood Elf sprang up and jumped to the side as the Captain's sword came down on the chair that was behind her, the blade cutting half-way through the seat before getting stuck. The Captain tried to swing the sword while the chair was stuck on it and Mels had to jump back to avoid being hit by the chair. The Wood Elf took several more steps back and launched a small ball of flame from her left hand. The spell hit the chair and the Captain found herself holding what looked like a very large torch.

At the door, one of the Imperials had charged Ralof and slammed a shoulder into the Nord's stomach, sending him to the ground. The other Imperial soldier stabbed his sword at Keth. The big Orc's hand wrapped around the soldier's hand that held the hilt and pulled him forward with a sudden jerk. The man stumbled into Keth's other hand that was balled into a fist. The soldier staggered back from the blow, but tripped over his own feet and fell to the ground. Keth wrenched the sword from him and threw it at the other soldier before he could stab Ralof who was lying on the ground. It wasn't a skilled throw, at least not enough for it to do any damage. But the impact knocked the man enough off balance that his swing missed and he hit the floor.

Angrier than he was before, the soldier turned and charged at Keth. His heavy swing at the Orc's head missed as Keth ducked. The man's eyes bulged when Keth straightened quickly and slammed his shoulder into the man's torso, picking him completely off the ground. The man flew the short distance to crash into the wall and fell to the floor, unmoving.

The Captain had discarded her sword and pulled out a dagger. Her free hand was held easily out to her side, ready to use it to catch anything that Mels swung at her. When Mels saw her do that she realized she still had the dead Stormcloak's axe in her right hand. The Wood Elf smirked as an idea came to her. She also took a defensive stance and the two moved from side to side, watching the other and waiting for someone to make the first move. Mels finally moved her arm back and then whipped it forward to throw the axe. The Captain turned to the side quickly to present the smallest target possible and lashed out her free hand in an attempt to catch the axe. To her credit, the Imperial Captain did catch the thrown weapon and she smirked at Mels. The smirk died when the ball of flame that had followed the axe hit the woman in the face. With a shriek, the Captain dropped both the axe and the dagger and grabbed her face, which was now on fire. The woman screamed and ran until Mels retrieved the axe and quieted the woman with a single hit to the back of the head with the weapon.

"That'll smell bad in a few minutes," Keth said as he looked at the Captain, whose head was still burning. The Orc picked up the only soldier who was still moving, the first one that had attacked him, and slammed the man into the wall. He let the man fall limply next to the other soldier.

Ralof bent and took something from one of the soldier's. Holding up his hand, he showed them a key. "I bet this will open that other door so we can go farther into the keep."

"I bet you're right," Keth said. "Let's go."

"Wait," Mels said, holding a hand up in front of Ralof. She didn't want the Nord coming with them. He had already caused her too much trouble and from what she had seen, he wasn't worth much in a fight. The compassionate side of her didn't want to hurt the man's feelings, so she worded her refusal of his company in the most tactful way she could think. "You should wait here for Ulfric. Keth and I can go into the fort and clear the way."

Ralof tilted his head to the side as he thought about what she said before nodding. "Good idea. Good luck, to both of you." He handed the key to Mels.

The other door opened with a similar creak and squeal and Mels pocketed the key, even though she would most likely never have to use it again. She and Keth stepped through and turned left to venture deeper into the fort.


	6. Chapter 6

It was odd to think about the turn her life had suddenly taken. She would have never guessed that when she came to Skyrim she would so rapidly be thrown into the conflict or that if not for Keth, a thief, a dragon would have killed her. Had she not seen a dragon over two hundred years ago during the Oblivion crisis she would have claimed that dragons didn't exist.

Now, she was fleeing for her life. Stormcloaks and Imperial soldiers were no longer her concern. She glanced over at the Orc walking beside her, down the long stone steps slightly curving around a corner. His gray eyes were focused on their path making her wonder who the man really was. He no longer seemed like a simple horse thief.

She knew that they didn't have the time to talk. It was either keep moving or die. They hurried through another doorway and took a right and another right. As soon as they rounded that last corner, the entire underground chamber shook. Keth pulled her away from rocks caving in from above. As he did so, she lost her balance and sent them both tumbling aside.

"Damn dragon doesn't give up easily," Keth said irritably as he gained his feet.

As he brushed dirt away from his worn clothes, Mels gained her feet. Just as she was about to respond, they heard talking coming from the only door they could go through. She met the Orc's eyes briefly knowing that they were about to have a fight on their hands.

"Take whatever you can grab." They said something else but she couldn't make it out. All she knew was that it was something about the dragon.

"Ready?" Keth whispered with his hand resting on the door. They pushed through the door and saw two people in the distance around a large column. To their right were bookcases and a table with chairs near a fireplace keeping the underground stone room warm.

The two Imperial soldiers turned at the wrong moment. Surprise briefly flickered through their eyes before Mels, taking the dagger she had picked up along the way, sliced his throat. Beside her, Keth had moved quickly as well. His large, muscular hands grabbed the man by the head and twisted. Mels cringed at the crack of bones she heard. Both men fell limp to the stone ground.

Keth's gray eyes swept the area. Upon the table were lit candles, a few pots that had been cleaned out and a bottle of Alto wine. None of it interested him. However, as he took in the rest of the room, the barrels leading out through the other door caught his attention.

"It looks like a storage room," he said as he began to look through the barrels for potions.

He noticed that Mels followed suit although she passed a few potion bottles containing red liquid. At once he snagged them knowing what they were. Once they were secure, he watched Mels with interest, wondering what she was up to. There was a shelf above the barrels that she quickly climbed onto. As she looked through each basket, she threw them behind her muttering. As he watched her climb back down the steps to look into the rest of the baskets and open barrels nearby, he saw her eyes light up. When he glanced into them, all he saw were odd greenish eggs.

"Hungry?" he asked with a snort. "I _really_ don't think now is a good time to be thinking of food."

Mels looked over at him impatiently as she swiped some salt off the table near the baskets she had been taking stuff from. "I'm not thinking about food. These ingredients could be helpful later on down the road. Don't you ever think ahead?"

Keth snorted at her. "I think it would be a good idea to think about the present," he said as somewhere overhead something was creaking rather loudly. "Let's just keep moving. I don't feel like dying down here."

Mels said nothing but followed the Orc out of the room and into the hallway. They hurried down several ramps. At the bottom of the ramp there were two Imperial soldiers and two Stormcloaks fighting. Keth glanced toward her before moving in on one of them. Mels paused momentarily, uncertain what to do. She knew what side she had chosen before she had even crossed the border, but these Imperial soldiers were still people doing what they believed was right. In her hesitation, the two Imperial soldiers were killed. She pursed her lips and said a silent prayer for them.

Keth noticed her hesitation, met her eyes briefly, before his attention was drawn to one of the female Stormcloaks who slid down the wall holding her side. Her breathing was heavy and her eyes were glazing over.

"Talos awaits me," she whispered as her eyes closed.

The other Stormcloak had been killed in the fight. Keth looked toward Mels and shook his head wondering if she hadn't hesitated if they could have saved both of them. Mels knew that look. She had given others the same look several hundred times. She sighed and gave him an apologetic look in way of an answer. As both of their eyes swept the room, they realized that they stood in a torture room. A few decaying bodies hung off the walls, reflecting the wounds they had suffered. Others lie dead in the three cages in front of the door they had entered through.

"A torture chamber," Keth said, anger dripping from his voice. He looked toward Mels. "Damn Empire claims to want to help people, but rooms like this are the reason why the Stormcloaks exist." He fell silent for a while as he took in everything around him. He could imagine the cries of help echoing through the chamber and falling deaf on the torturer's ears. "This is probably the idea of the Thalmar." He shook his head slowly. "I just can't see Nords torturing other Nords, Imperial soldiers or Stormcloaks."

Mels watched him, unable to say anything at first. The more and more she knew of him, the less likely he seemed to be a simple horse thief. Her first impression of him had obviously been hasty. "I truly hate to say this, but we should collect what we can and be moving again."

"Agreed," the Orc said with a heavy sigh.

There was a hallway to the left of the room that they ran down. Although the room was out of sight, it wasn't out of mind. The things they had seen in there had worn heavy on their hearts. Along this stretch of hall there were chambers on either side to hold prisoners, no doubt waiting for the torture chamber. In more than half of them there were dead bodies lying in the bottom of them, some having been left for years and were now just mere bones. They took a turn to find themselves in another large room where cages hung from the ceiling. To their left there was a man lying against the bars, long since cold. Something had eaten his eyes out. Mels shuddered and turned away. If she hadn't already been devoted to the Stormcloak's cause, she was now.

Keth paused when he realized that Mels was no longer following him. When he finally found her, she was beside one of the cages with a skeleton in it. As he came up to her side, he saw that she was collecting bone pieces from it and shuddered.

"What the HELL are you doing?" he asked grabbing her shoulder to pull her along.

She shrugged him off. "Trust me, we'll need this. He's not using it anymore. Just one more moment and I'll have enough."

"Your sick."

Mels turned away from the skeleton once she was done and hurried to Keth's side as he went through a rough entrance into actual caverns. The entrance was lit by a small fire burning off to the side. Keth didn't acknowledge her presence though his pace increased. He knew that he wasn't going to make it out of here without her help. After that, he had every intention of parting ways. She was a little too odd for his liking.

The caverns turned and twisted. The walkway was rough with loose rock, dirt, and occasional upheavals. Up ahead, they heard someone talking.

"Orders are to wait until General Tullius arrives," a deep voice said.

At once, Mels crouched and crept along. She quickly saw this wasn't going to do much good as Keth had decided to charge in, not caring if they knew he was there or not. Mels sighed but remained where she was, moving as quietly as she could. At least they wouldn't know she was there and might be able to help Keth better.

"I'm not waiting to be killed by a dragon! We need to fall back and wait for reinforcements!" one of the other soldiers yelled.

The leader couldn't respond as Keth shoved into him, knocking him aside. Mels shook her head. There were so many and yet he had charged into it without a care. She couldn't help but wonder what he was thinking. One thing was for sure. They were going to part ways if they got out of here alive. With the way the Orc charged into things, she wasn't certain they would.

She could see a problem immediately. Off to his left, there was an archer trying desperately to shoot him as he tackled the man giving orders. Mels knew that she had to do something. The room was an odd room. There was a fast moving stream in the middle of it with two bridges built to connect to the rest of the caverns. As Keth finished killing the man he had tackled, by elbowing him in the gut to get the advantage as the man instinctively doubled over, Mels darted across the two bridges aiming herself at the archer. Now that Keth was no longer struggling with one of his comrades, the archer had a free shot at the Orc. He had been so intent on watching the two, he hadn't seen her coming. The only problem was that a second archer stepped in from the tunnel having heard the struggle.

"Damn it," she muttered knowing that she was mostly likely going to get shot.

As she continued forward a few steps, she noticed a shiny substance on the ground. Oil for the fires burning in the raised stone urns. She smirked at the archer still trained on Keth. As the soldier moved the bow, Mels knew that the Orc was following her. She quickly threw flame from the palm of her hand at the oil and dived to the side. The fire spread quickly and consumed the archer. As she gained her feet, the other archer was right in front of her. She brought down the mace she had picked up earlier and smashed his face in. His last sound was a gurgle as blood foamed from his mouth.

"Fancy magic," Keth said at her side.

"Yes and it probably saved your life."

Keth snorted, but then added. "Probably."

Through the tunnel where the third man had been there was a bridge raised and blocking their way. Keth pulled the lever off to the side and watched the bridge lower, hoping that the rest of the way would be clear. On the other side of the bridge was a continuation of the fast moving stream, nearly the size of a river now. He hurried down the steps with Mels behind him. The dragon's roars could be heard more clearly now. It gave them more incentive to hurry along, praying that there was a way out of the cave.

They ran through the stream and down the tunnel, careful not to slip on the slime covered rocks. Mels was surprised at how agile the Orc was. She thought for sure that he would have slipped at least once, but his gait was steady. Despite the dragon's angry cries, Mels still found the sound of the water passing over the rocks peaceful.

Once out of the water, they took a sharp right, unable to follow the path of the stream further. Ahead of them they could see cocoons made from spiders. Mels shuddered at the thought of spiders, especially large ones that could make those. Just as she thought they were going to be able to pass without problems, several spiders dropped from the ceiling.

Her first instinct was to burn them. As they hurried back from her flames, Keth circled around her and bashed the spiders. Between the two of them, they took care of the five spiders that were coming at them, planning to wrap them in their silk to save for later. As Mels' fire died away, she caught sight of the Orc wiping away spider guts on his pants. She grimaced at him before she hurried over to one of the eggsacs and stuck her delicate hands in them and pulled away spider eggs.

"And you thought I was disgusting," Keth said as he passed her, pushing his way through some spider webs that had formed over the entrance of another tunnel.

The tunnel was a sharp downhill with several rocks jutting out. Both of them navigated it easily. At the bottom of the hill they found the stream again. They hoped that the stream was leading outside and not to an underground lake, but at the moment, all they had was hope.

As they crossed over the stream, Mels saw a bear lying asleep up ahead. Before she had time to say anything Keth was nearly to the bear, cracking his knuckles in anticipation. The bear gained his feet. Mels remained where she was, watching the two, curiosity making her not act.

Keth avoided the large clawed paw that swiped at him. As the bear turned to meet him again, Keth didn't attack. The bear swiped at him again and again, but with no luck. It roared furiously at the Orc and lunged toward him, but the Orc was quicker on his feet than the bear had thought. It even surprised Mels as the Orc jumped onto the bear's back, riding him for a few moments before leaning down and wrapping one arm around the bear's neck. He pulled up, using his other arm as leverage.

Mels watched wide-eyed as the bear thrashed. Keth never lost his grip. A few times his body rose off the bear, but not once did he fall off. The bear slowly collapsed to the cave floor, where it let off two last breaths, before his giant ribcage stopped moving. Keth gained his feet, grinning.

"I told you that I could kill a bear with my bare hands," he said as he winked at her.

Mels just stared at him for a few moments, saying nothing, before she moved to the bear and took a couple of his claws. Keth met her eyes and shook his head at her, not understanding the Wood Elf. He didn't think he wanted to.

She hurried to his side as he kept going along the natural tunnels. After a few more turns, they could see light ahead. It spurred them to move a little faster despite the gusting wind they could hear outside and the sounds of the dragon. Freedom was just moments away. If the dragon happened to be out there, they would have to find a way to deal with it. Right before they left the cavern, they walked through snow that had blown in.

As sunlight hit their faces along with a blast of cold air, they were forced to take cover as the dragon passed overhead. They could feel the strong gusts from the beat of his powerful wings, but the dragon hadn't noticed them.

Now that they were safe, Mels looked out across snow covered pine trees and mountains in the distance. It was breathtaking. So far, all of Skyrim had been beautiful. Once the crisis was over here, she could see herself settling down in the beautiful, albeit, frigid land.

"I think we should part ways," the Orc said at her side, bringing her thoughts back to the present.

"Why?" Mels asked. The question even surprised her. Just minutes ago, she had been wanting the same thing.

"We don't belong together. You're a Wood Elf, an _odd_ Wood Elf, and I'm an Orc. I work alone. We're better away from one another."

Mels frowned at him. "We both want the same thing for Skyrim, Keth," she said softly. "We both want to see the Empire gone and the Thalmar driven out. If we work together, we can make that happen faster."

"That's where we differ. I want the Thalmar dead."


	7. Chapter 7

The air outside the cave was clean and crisp with just a slight chill. Mels took in a deep breath of it as she and Keth walked slowly down the hill. The Wood Elf had a question burning in her mind, but wasn't sure how to put it to the Orc. Keth strode down the barely noticeable path with ease and she wondered again what kind of person she had found herself in the company of. She bent suddenly to pick one of the purple flowers that she had seen a lot of since leaving the cave. She tucked the flower into her pouch and made a mental note to sit down and study all the different ingredients she had collected recently. With some effort she brought her focus back to the current situation.

Since Keth was an Orc, Mels decided on being direct and seeing what kind of response that got her. "You're not really a horse thief, are you?"

The large Orc that stood almost two feet taller than her barked out a laugh without missing a step. "I was wondering when you were going to ask," he continued to chuckle to himself for a few moments before continuing. "I thought I was being pretty clever, to tell you the truth. I've been trying to get close to General Tullius for months now, but this had been my best shot. I got chummy with some Imperial soldiers and one of them let slip that they were setting an ambush for Ulfric. I knew that if Ulfric was really there, Tullius would most likely be there too. That pompous ass of a General has been around the Thalmor too much. I knew he'd want to chance to talk down to Ulfric to his face, but only if he was bound and unable to do anything." Keth shook his head and they walked in silence for a moment.

"I stole that horse right there in front of the Imperials so that they would arrest me. I thought that if they lumped me in with the rest of the rebels, I could have gotten close enough to kill the bastard. It almost worked, too. That Imperial Captain was so intent on watching you go to the block that I could have gotten free and killed the General if that dragon hadn't appeared."

"So, you were only there to assassinate the General?" Mels shook her head in wonder. Without breaking stride, she bent slightly to her left and snatched the bud from a white flower. "What if there hadn't been an opportunity for you to kill him? You'd have gotten your head cut off for nothing."

Keth laughed again. "The thought had crossed my mind, but I ignored it so I could stay focused on the task."

They walked down the path in silence for a few minutes. The path wound and then turned to the left. Mels could hear water in the distance, but couldn't see it yet. "What will you do now?"

The big Orc grinned. "Like I said, I'm going to kill the Thalmor. I'm just not sure how, yet. They are the reason for this war and I know lives will be saved if I can get the Empire to leave Skyrim. If I can get rid of the Thalmor and General Tullius, this country will be a lot better."

Mels nodded. She had her doubts about a plan like that, but didn't feel like voicing them at that moment. They walked a little farther in silence before coming upon another winding curve. Off to the side of the curve sat a strange stone formation. A flat, mostly circular area overgrown with moss and the like held three stone spikes, almost as tall as Mels, sticking up from the ground an equal distance from each other. Mels and Keth glanced at each other, shrugged and walked over to the stones.

Each of the stones had an image carved into the surface and a hole in it near the top. The image that Mels was looking at appeared to be the Mage constellation. She traced her finger along the image absently. A part of her took note of the moss so she could collect a little bit of it later.

"They seem significant, but I'm not sure why," the Wood Elf muttered to herself. Thinking it may do something, Mels reach out and placed her palm on the image of the constellation. It could have been her imagination, but it seemed as if a soft humming was coming from the stone. A little shone in the middle of the hole and then shot into the sky. But Mels didn't feel any different. She turned to look at Keth. The Orc had placed his hand on the stone that held the image of the constellation of the Warrior. The same thing seemed to happen, light filled the hole and then shot into the sky.

"Did you feel anything?" Mels asked.

Keth looked at his hand for a few moments and then at her. "No," he said with a shake of his head.

"You've lived in Skyrim for a while, any idea what these stones are?" the curious Wood Elf asked.

"I think they are called the Staring Stones, or something like that. Not heard anything else about them, though." He glanced around at the other two stones and shrugged. "Did you feel anything?"

"No, I was hoping to feel something. I heard the stone hum a little, but that was it."

Keth laughed. "These are probably some ancient joke made by a mischievous wizard." The Orc cast a side-long glance at Mels. "Is that what kind of mage you are? The trouble-making kind?"

Mels laughed and shook her head. "No, nothing so fancy. I use magic to defend myself, nothing more."

"Oh," Keth said, sounding slightly disappointed.

"So, where are we going now?" Mels asked. The Orc's response was a grin.


End file.
